New Esprit V8 Gauges (Lack There Of)

[feffman]

Hi All:

With the recent purchase of my 1999 Esprit V8, I have some concerns about the lack of instrumentation, notably no oil pressure and/or oil temperature gauge. With this in mind, I’ve contacted a Lotus specialist in California, Lotus Prepared by Claudius (www.LotusPBC.com) who does an “A” pillar modification allowing one to mount any 2- inch gauge in the “A” pillar. You can see this on their web site at
www.lotuspbc.com/Photo_Gallery/Photos_New_Products.htm

Click on the “New Pillar Mount and Boost Gauge”


I’d like to find who is interested to possibly work a group discount with Claudius for anyone who’d like to do this modification. They will make a new “A” pillar from their mold, cover it in the appropriate colored leather (you may need to supply them your original “A” pillar to match the leather if it’s an odd color like my “raffia” leather) and install the gauge in the new “A” pillar. Cost for the “A” pillar manufacture and leatherwork is about $300 on an individual basis. Installing the mechanicals for said gauge is up to you or your mechanic.

I am looking at a dual gauge from RaceTech, from True Choice Motorsports (www.Truechoice.com), which offers both oil temperature, and oil pressure in one gauge($150’ish with shipping). The gauge has a black face with white lettering and is available with a light. It looks very similar to the VDO gauges in our V8’s. Any 2-inch gauge, for any function, will work. I’m going to attempt to work a group discount deal with True Choice for the RaceTech gauges as well.

If you are interested, contact me at [phone] or e-mail [e-mail]. Let me know the color of your “A” pillar leather and the gauge you would like to use. I’ll put together a list and approach Lotus Prepared by Claudius and True Choice Motorsports to see if they will work with us.

Happy Holidays and Happy Lotusing!

Mark Pfeffer
1999 Esprit V8

[cnh1990]

Hey Mark,
I think the warning lights on the later V8 do an excellent job of telling you when you have destroyed your engine .
Calvin 90 SE
Never did like it when they replaced the gauges with lights.

[kmaier]

Well, I have an opposite view. While lots of dials and lights are fun to look at (especially during the holidays), I prefer the minimal approach where you have the most important instrumentation and let the ECM worry about the rest. After all, the ECM will be able to detect a failure much faster and alert the driver with a flashing light versus lots of dials to constantly scan thru and then make a determination on whether you need to take action. Of course, just my $0.02.

Regards, KM
2000 V8

[ErnestM]

I agree with KM with one exception. I sure would like to have a battery/alternator charge instrument of some sort. Other than that, fuel, water temp, tach and speedo are about all one really needs.


ErnestM

[JeffYoung]

Although I agree that oil temp and pressure gauge do you no good in the event of an immediate, catastrophic failure, where they do help is to spot trends. If pressure drops slowly over time, you know you have a rebuild coming up. If oil temp slowly increases, you know you might have blockage of the cooler, or something.

In my view, added gauges (within reason), only help on a car like this.

[solar]

I love the fighter cockpit feel with lots of system knowledge from the seat of the s4s. But if the systems are perfect you shouldnt need them.

[feffman]

By the time an idiot light kicks in, it may be too late. The information is nice for my peace of mind, especially since it's about $20K-$30K to rebuild a V8 Esprit engine.

Mark

[kmaier]

Well, the ECM seems to be pretty quick at activating indicators... and watching gauges are more likely to result in a delay (once you see the change and make a decision on what to do). The ECM on the V8 can detect very minor errors and turn on the "check engine light" before you know anything is wrong. I don't see a problem letting the ECM do it's job which lets me concentrate on driving more. In this case I would tend to say that less is more.

Regards, KM
2000 V8